BREAKING:

USAC recap – May 14

May 16, 2019 12:53 am

The Undergraduate Students Association Council is the official student government representing the undergraduate student body at UCLA. Council meetings take place every Tuesday at 7 p.m. in the Bruin Viewpoint Room and are open to all students. Watch a livestream of the meetings on the USAC Live! channel on YouTube.

Public Comment:

California Public Interest Research Group representatives said they are working to promote causes like food security, biodiversity and clean transportation.

Justin Feldman, third-year political science and Middle Eastern studies student, said he thinks anti-Semitism and white supremacy must be condemned by the council.

Special Presentations:

Daily Bruin staff Marilyn Chavez-Martinez and Melissa Morris laid out communication procedures between the council and the Daily Bruin News section for the 2019-2020 school year.

Ryan Ender, the USAC Finance Committee chair, told council members how to reimburse expenses and how the finance committee evaluates funding requests.

Agenda:

The council allocated $23,705 from the Contingency Programing Funds for non-USAC entities.

The council allocated the $199.88 Contingency Capital Fund for USAC entities.

The council allocated $663.72 from the Student Wellness Commission Programming Fund to five non-USAC groups.

The council allocated $3,750 from the Academic Affairs Commission Travel Mini-Grant to 15 student group applicants.

Two vice chancellors and the director of Counseling and Psychological Services said they hope to reorient the Campus Assault Resources and Education Program to focus on recruiting staff members who have experience in social work, psychology or who have clinical backgrounds. They also said Nicole Green, CAPS executive director, will be taking over as interim director of CARE.

Administrative Representative Debra Geller said she thinks offices can merge funding applications to streamline the request process for student groups.

The council tabled a resolution to condemn the David Horowitz Freedom Center and the Canary Mission website for promoting potentially defamatory information against UCLA community members. Council members suggested modifications to the resolution, which they will vote on next week.

The council discussed how they can improve student engagement and suggested having a master calendar for all USAC events, posting more on social media and creating an engagement committee.

President Robert Watson said he thinks the council should have combined appointment applications to increase accessibility.

Reports:

Watson said he wants council offices to create a centralized office application process.

Internal Vice President Kimberly Bonifacio said the Campus Safety Alliance will meet during week 9, but the location is still undecided.

Campus Events Commissioner Tara Steinmetz said her office is hosting the 2019 Shorttakes Films Festival on Thursday in the Ackerman Grand Ballroom. She added her office will host Ultrabloom 2019, an electronic dance music event, in Ackerman Grand Ballroom on May 31.